A Recipe I Love

If you wonder what kinds of things I make, don't wonder too much. ALL I make are easy and fast things. If it's not simple, I do NOT do it. Period. I think life is all about happiness, and a long complicated recipe that keeps me in the kitchen for hours and hours is NOT happiness for me.
One such recipe, which has been a HUGE hit every time I make it, is Can't Leave 'Em Alone bars.

Can't Leave 'Em Alone Bars
1 box white cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
Mix together, and press 3/4 of mixture in greased 9x13" pan.
Melt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cube butter
Pour melted mixture over crust, then crumble remaining 1/4 of mixture over the top.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Wait until it cools before cutting and eating. (Serious, molten chocolate BURNS!)

So YOU Asked....

One Scrappy Gal said...
Ever watch the cartoon The Backyardigans with your son?

In the opening credits...they always show 5 Backyardigans. Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha and Austin.

Yet... in the actual episodes...they almost always only show 4.

It's usually a different one that's missing of most of the episodes...yet they don't explain where they are! Are they at a doctor's appointment? Having braces put in? Running errands with their mother? THEY NEVER EXPLAIN WHERE THEY ARE!

So I sit through some of these episodes...wondering...why bother showing 5 in the credits...when most episodes only have 4.

Do you think it's because it's too hard to show 5 on the screen at the same time?

Where do you think the missing one goes? Is there some conspiracy afoot?

P.S. I'm looking for some good movies to add to my online rental queue. Any suggestions?

Scrappy:

HOLY SMOKES LADY!! ;)

Yes, I sometimes watch the Backyardigans (cute show...) And I DID notice that there are usually only 4 kids (are they kids?? Or are they animals??) in the episodes. I feel kinda bad too, because I've noticed (at least in the early episodes) that Austin was the one left out.

I have also come up with a theory, Austin's mom is STRICT when it comes to playing with his friends. She's worried that he'll pick up bad habits from his friends. (And what IS Uniqua anyway!?) But getting back to the point, he's stuck at home, watching his friends from his bedroom window because his mom is "mean."

If Austin happens to be in the show, and there's still only 4 kids, then the odd one out is often Tasha. Tasha is just TOO good on those days to play with Austin, she's often jealous, and BEGS her mom and dad to take her on errands. She just does NOT get along with Austin, unless she's in charge!!

The reason they show ALL 5 is because there's always the possibility that you might spot the missing child, staring out of their bedroom window....WISHING they were playing with their friends....Either that, or the animators are just lazy!!

And as to your movie rental question: Disturbia is good, and I just watched Pursuit of Happyness....BOTH are good!! (Oh, and if you want one your kids can watch too, I highly recommend Bridge to Teribithia and The Last Mimsy.) If you want classics, you can NEVER go wrong with The Princess Bride, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Head Over Heels, or (my personal favorite, which I'm watching on MTV right now and HOPE to buy one day) Get Over It!!

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Elena said...
What's your favorite kind of pizza? And from where?

Elena:

I LOVE Craigo's Philly Cheese Steak Pizza. Yes, it's a little more expensive, but WELL worth the money....I fill up on just two pieces of their pizza compared to 5 of Pizza Hut's or Little Caesars'.

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Anonymous said...
Have you got that postcard i sent you yet? Do you have a good recipe for children's party food?

Rachel

Rachel:

I SO LOVE YOU LADY!!! Yes, I did get your postcard, and my husband was confused!! *snicker* I use it as my bookmark when I read....every time I see it, I think of my WONDERFUL friend on the other side of the world!!

The BEST children's party food I can think of is cupcakes. (Use the box, the kids won't know the difference!!) And then there's always Puppy Dog Chow:

9 cups of Chex (or a Chex-like cereal)

1/2 cup of peanut butter

1/2 cube of butter

1 bag of chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Set aside the cereal. In a microwave safe bowl put the peanut butter, butter, and chocolate chips. Let melt (stirring often...I do about every 30 seconds or so...) until mixture is smooth. Add vanilla and stir. Pour mixture over cereal and combine until cereal is coated. Then put into a zippered baggie, (gallon sized) and add sugar and shake.

SOOOOOO Yummy!! ;)

Easy Pumpkin Cookies

I had THE yummiest cookies the other day, and I have to share here! You ready? Here goes:

Pumpkin Cookies

1 large can pumpkin

1 boxed spice cake mix

chocolate chip cookies (as many as YOU want)

Mix together (yeah, no eggs, oil, water...nothing else!) and drop onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

These cookies are SERIOUSLY the easiest, yummiest, pumpkin cookies that I've had in a LONG time!

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And we're off to see the doctor. It's going to be a long day. When we started it was going to be a big deal, my dad was going to come, Steve was going to come and, of course, me and my mom, but now the guys have dropped off now that we know it's nothing serious. I just hate driving to Salt Lake and back home in the same day. I guess if we get desperate we could stay with my sister in Logan, but who wants to do that!? :P

Anyway, I'll let all of you know what, if anything, we find on this adventure!

Plums!

There is this lady in my parents ward who had announced in Relief Society that her golden plum tree was so full of fruit that it was breaking the branches and dying. She asked that anyone who wanted them to come and help save her tree. So yesterday my parents went...and I tagged along.

When we got to the tree the branches were nearly to the ground...it was DEFINITELY ready to be picked! So we started in on the job. It was really kinda fun! (I mean, I don't have to do it ALL of the time, so it's okay...) We ended up with 2 full boxes and three Walmart bags FULL of plums...and we didn't even scratch the surface! I noticed as I was picking the fruit off of one of the branches that it got higher and higher until I could BARELY reach it, when before it had been smacking me in the face!

ANYWAY, I took a box of them home, but now I have a new problem...What am I to do with all of these blasted plums?? Sure, I love munching on them for a snack, but I can't eat a FULL box by myself...Steve and Cam both say they don't like them...

If you have any helpful suggestions, recipes or help for me...please help me! They're ripe now, but soon they'll be a mushy mess on my kitchen table! :)

Pretzel Salad and Quilts

I don't know why, but I'm feeling like my WHOLE week was gone in a flash! I can't believe it's the weekend already. Maybe it's because I've been recovering from a previous vacation, but I guess that's just how things go sometimes! We have my big JPH reunion tomorrow, and I thought I was all prepared for it, until I realized that I had to take a dish for the pot luck lunch. ACK!! Talk about running to the store fast quick for a good stand-by!! (Actually, it's what I'm famous for now...I usually get in trouble with my brothers if I DON'T bring it!) And since I have very little to share with all of you today, I'm going to share my recipe with you.

Dawnyel's FAMOUS Pretzel Salad
first layer:
2 cups crushed pretzels
3 Tbsp sugar
3/4 cup melted butter (don't substitute margarine...it doesn't work the same!)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and cook first layer in 13x9 inch pan for 7 minutes. Let cool.
second layer:
1 cup sugar
1 regular container whipped topping
8 oz. pkg of softened cream cheese
Whip these three ingredients together until smooth, then layer over COOLED crust. Make sure this layer covers the pretzels completely, or they will get soggy!
third layer:
1 large box raspberrry jello
2 cups boiling water
10 oz. (or larger) frozen raspberries
1 large can crushed pineapple (with juice)
Dissolve jello in boiling water, then add fruit. Pour over whipped topping layer, and put in fridge to set up for at least 2 hours.

It's simple and easy...my kind of cooking!! :) If it wasn't easy, I wouldn't do it!

One more thing....I'm showing off this amazing quilt that I helped SLIGHTLY with. (I cut many a jeans to help out the cause, but that's about it!) My mom and grandma Sue did the bulk of the work. I think it's GORGEOUS, and I hope that the person who wins it in the raffle tomorrow truly appreciates all of the hard work that was put into it!

Recipe for Disaster

Here's a new recipe I found the hard way today...I hope it makes everyone else feel that they're not alone when it comes to struggles! :)

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How to make a Crazy Lady:
For best results, start with an early morning after a long night.
Add 1 part cranky son.
Sprinkle a pinch of boredom.
Stir in 2 younger children.
Let run around the living room for an hour, cover and let simmer for the next hour.
Completely REMOVE any formula for month old infant.
Add incessant screaming on said infant's part.
Watch as cranky son swats sleeping girl on the forehead, waking her from her 10 minute nap.
Find that cranky son has found secret stash of Peanut butter Kisses...to which the now awake girl is SEVERELY allergic to.
Allow screaming children to continue screaming while trying to think of a solution to the formula problem.
Stir up lady to a crazed frenzy....and VOILA....crazy lady!!

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Thankfully, my husband was home and was able to run to the store to buy a can of formula. I don't think he enjoyed the crazy lady waking him from his sleep, but he was HEAVEN sent! He really did help me to calm down....a bit! Now, we're keeping a can of formula at our house, just in case this happens again!

BTS Cake and Lies

I think I must be hormonal, because I'm totally craving Better than Sex Cake now (BTS cake for those of you who don't want to say the "s" word!) After writing about it in my last blurb I started thinking about it and salivating! YUM!
My BTS cake is actually one of my good friend's from high school's recipes. It's soooooooo good...and soooooo easy (otherwise, I wouldn't make it.) It's a chocolate one. I've never heard of a BTS cake (before yesterday, that is) that was anything OTHER than chocolate. I'm going to post the recipe here for those of you craving your chocolate fix like me...then we'll all stuff our faces....ready?

Better than Sex Cake (not really, but pretty close)
Step One:
Chocolate cake mix (boxed)
and the ingredients needed to make the cake
Now, make the cake following the instructions on the back of the box. I usually make this in a 13x9 inch pan.
Step Two:
Mix together: one can of sweetened condensed milk
and one bottle of Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel sauce (found by the ice cream condiments)
As soon as you pull the cake out of the oven take a butter knife and stab the heck out of the cake...making holes throughout the cake all the way to the bottom of the pan and getting the sides really good. (This is EXCELLENT for getting out angry feelings or frustrations you have without hurting anyone!) Pour the gooey concoction over the top and let seep through the cake for 20 minutes.
Step Three:
one container whip topping
a bag of Skor chips
Mix half the bag of Skor chips in with the whip topping. When cake has seeped enough, layer whipped topping mixture over cake. Sprinkle remainder of Skor chips over the top of whipped cream.

That's it....simple and simply evil!! :) I made this recipe one time at my parent's house and my dad heard the name and came running. He'd never had it before, but he had to see what the commotion was about! Once he ate it he sighed and said it was not quite better, but close enough! It made me laugh!

Funny story of the day:
Yesterday I refused to stay at my house with the heat and NO air conditioning, so I spent time at my mom's house. My parents are gone to Canada for their annual fishing trip and my brothers could fend for themselves, but I decided to "save" them and my own sanity and run to the cool air. We were sitting around and Cam found a toy that launches foam rockets. The parts that launch the rocket are plastic, and earlier he was using the plastic pieces as crutches, complaining that his legs were hurting.
Anyway, this time he was banging them on my mom's hardwood floors. The sound of the plastic hitting the floors reverberated and echoed really badly. It was getting on my nerves, so I told him to stop it. He kept going, so I loudly told him to stop it! The noise stopped.
From where I was sitting I could see Cam behind me holding the offending toy. I had seen him smacking the thing into the floor...I knew it was him...I saw it with my own eyes. As soon as he stopped he said,"I didn't do it."
I sarcastically said, "If it wasn't you, then who was it?"
He then proudly told me that the toy did it all by itself. My younger brother almost choked on his water. Such a blatant lie from such a young one? This isn't the first time he's lied to me, but it's the first time he was proud of it. I had to hold back my own laughter to tell him that lying is unacceptable and that I saw him and knew what was going on. He continued to deny his involvement, but I still giggle over the whole thing.
Do you think this is my punishment for lying so much to my own parents?